Vivid Stage

Founding as Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre (1994)

Laura Ekstrand and Janet Sales co-founded Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre in 1994 as a summer-only scripted repertory company. The organization expanded to year-round programming and moved through several homes, including Montclair, Bloomfield College, and South Orange, before settling in Summit in 2012 at the Oakes Center.

Improv and Rebrand

Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre added improv comedy and cabaret programming alongside its scripted mainstage productions, serving Summit and the surrounding New Jersey community across both traditions. In 2021 the organization rebranded as Vivid Stage, its current name.

Vivid Stage programs scripted repertory productions, improv comedy, and cabarets from its home at Summit's Oakes Center. The company serves New Jersey audiences across theatrical forms rather than as a dedicated improv institution.

The Flip Side, Vivid Stage's improv comedy ensemble, performs original improvised shows during the regular season. The company produces a year-round season of plays, new play readings through the Meet the Artist series, and a summer youth program. Vivid Stage was selected for the Made in Wickenburg residency in Arizona in 2024, and launched Fiona's Cafe, a pop-up theatrical experience at Serra Doce in Summit. The company also premiered original works including Grief at High Tide (2023) and Life's Work (2022).

Founded as Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre in 1994 by Laura Ekstrand, the company spent nearly three decades building a professional theatre presence in northern New Jersey. After summer-only seasons renting Luna Stage and 12 Miles West in Montclair, the company moved to Bloomfield College, then to the Baird Recreation and Cultural Center in South Orange in 2003, and finally to the Oakes Center in Summit in 2012. The 2021 rebrand to Vivid Stage reflected the company's evolution beyond its original repertory model. As an Equity Producing Theatre and member of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance, Vivid Stage demonstrated that professional theatre with improv programming could sustain itself in a suburban New Jersey market.